Ents, Ants and Spare Pants
by AngelUriel
Summary: The Picnic has ended in disaster and three hobbit fathers need to find their hobbit children before the forest gets them. Will they ever see them again? Fifteen chapters finished. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Samwise Gamgee piled his rather large family on to a rather large wagon. It was a beautiful morning in the shire and the picnic Sam had brought was also rather large, even by hobbit standards. Upon the invite of the Thane and the Master and their families, he and his enormous family had decided to go to Buckland, near the old forest for a 'small' reunion.

"Papa!" young Hamfast Gamgee yelled to his rather frayed father. Sam turned to see a rather large bottle of wine teetering over the edge of a basket being loaded onto the wagon. Sam quickly caught it as it fell, it being a precious bottle of his Gaffer's own vintage.

"Thanks Hammie,' he breathed, rubbing his hands through his son's blonde curls. Just getting to the picnic was bad enough, let alone thirteen excited children and a cantankerous wife (who had half the Shire trying to make cakes and pies for the feast) along with him.

Elanor, a flustered young woman, was cradling a very small crying bundle in her arms.

"Pa, Robin won't stop crying."

"Then find a way to make him happy." He sighed, ushering Merry and Pippin (Gamgee) on to the wagon.

"I've tried, Pa, nothing seems to work.' She said, coddling the screaming child.

'Where's your ma?' he said over the kafuffle of children.

'She's gone running after Bilbo and Ruby.'

'That explains the two missing children.' He said after a quick count of heads. Rose appeared from behind a tree, carrying two small figures screaming with delight, her hair wafting around her head in a loose bun. She put the children on the cart, and wordlessly agreed to go. Sam hurried Elenor and the screaming child on the cart, and sat up in the wagon and it lurched away from the Green Dragon.

"I hope Merry and Pippin are having as much trouble as I have had." He wished guiltily.


	2. Chapter 2

"I won't go!" screamed Faramir Took, standing in his nightwear, his green eyes glinting fiercely "you can't make me!"

"Faramir Took!" Diamond yelled at her son, her brown hands on her hips, "You are going to this function, even if I have to drag you in chains!"

Pippin, who was in the adjacent room, adjusting his turquoise overcoat, laughed quietly at the mere thought of Diamond actually doing the deed. He wouldn't allow it of course, the more creative threat of scrubbing the stables would be sufficient enough. Faramir had inherited his father's hatred of household chores.

"Enough, dear!" Pippin cried, "I was just thinking about how filthy the stables have got in the past month. Piles of dung! Imagine scrubbing all of it!' he said, entering the room. He turned to the young hobbit, "you know, Faramir, if you're not coming, I'll get you to scrub those stalls for me and I'll inspect it when we get back. Not a scrap of brown hay on the ground. If you can't get through that, I guess you have to polish the tack, groom the horses, and weed the garden. I can bring you back some cake if you want."

Faramir looked into his father's smiling face and his mother's mildly amused, slightly surprised figure with a stare of absolute horror.

"Or you can come." Diamond said, gesturing to the fine clothes laid out in front of him. Weeping with such emotion that any other would have thought otherwise, he grabbed his clothes and slammed his bedroom door, causing the hobbit hole to shake.

"My my, what have we raised?" Diamond mused to herself. Pippin chuckled, placing a pipe into his mouth.

"A Took, a wild one at that, but he is only young."

"He reminds me of you." She smiled cheekily.

"Oh dear, then we do have a bit of a problem." He laughed, "We can't have two Fools running around the Shire." He paused, "you know, I think you're right, just the mention to me of such a chore would send me into a fit of terror. I can't believe I actually thought of such a deed."

"You once said to me that you were allergic to hard work." She smiled, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"I am," he gasped in mock horror, "I would come out with this red rash all over my face, I would start sweating and my muscles would ache for days afterwards. And I would be so thirsty too. Thirsty for water! I guess I must be sick. Perhaps I need to see a physician."

Diamond laughed out loud, taking the pipe out of his mouth, "That, I think, is a normal reaction to _exercise_." She whispered in his pointed ear.

"I guess you're right. Never thought about it before. You should have become a physician, dear Diamond." He laughed softly.

"The only people I would treat is you and Faramir."

"A private physician," he mused, "There could be a business in that…"


	3. Chapter 3

Oops, I didn't mention before, I don't own Lord of the Rings nor any of the characters found therein, JRR Tolkein owns them. Please R/R

"Da-ad." Garadoc Brandybuck cried to his father, his twin Pipadoc lingered close by. Merry turned away from the setting of the picnic and saw himself faced with a slight dilemma: his son's immaculately groomed hair seemed to have sprouted a growth of twigs. Pip looked on guiltily.

"What happened Gary?" he sighed, inspecting the damage.

"W-Well…" he sobbed, "Pip and I were playing ball- and then-and then- Pip kicked the ball under the hedge. I went to grab it and I got stuck! My hair got caught!"

Merry hummed over the protruding twigs. Each strand of hair was clutching greedily to a twig or leaf. It was more severe than previously thought, and Merry didn't have the time.

"Gary, we're going to need to cut your hair." He said seriously. Gary started to cry, all his beautiful brown hair, all of it to be cut off. Merry sighed as he produced a pair of scissors from his pockets and began to snip away at the irreversible damage. Soon the youth emerged with a shorter crop of hair, but the "best" part of it was on the ground with the twigs.

"You don't look like a girl anymore, Gary!" Pip hooted with delight. Gary glared at his brother with bitter annoyance.

"At least I only _look_ like a girl. My dear Pip, you _are_ a girl."

"Am not."

"Are too." He stuck out a waggling tongue.

"Stop bickering, boys! Go and help your mother, that way I can get you to stay out of trouble." He ushered them away towards the commotion of the picnic. As they ran down the hill, Gary was still bemoaning the loss of his brown curls. _Honestly_, Merry thought, glancing at the hair glinting in the grass, _I should have called that boy Legolas when I had the chance. Takes more pride in his appearance than he does in his school work._

Merry noticed a great fuss happening to his left. It seemed that the Thane had arrived. He ran downhill, and leapt upon the unsuspecting Pippin Took. Pip shrieked in surprise and delight as the tall hobbit knocked him off his feet.

"Merry!" he laughed, "For the love of the Valar, you should stop doing that. You're the biggest hobbit in existence, an adult one at that, you could hurt someone, like me! And you're not really setting an example for the children." He nodded at the wide eyed Faramir, clutching Diamond's hand tightly. Merry laughed and hoisted Pippin back up to his feet.

"Just a silly jest, Pip, no harm done. Where's Sam?"

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Thank You for the support! And the Saga continues. Disclaimer: I do not own anything Tolkein, nor do I deserve the right to.

Sam was getting into a rather sour mood. He had no idea how he and Rose managed to produce twelve children, the majority under the age of twelve, and all of them making a lot of noise.

"Pa," Bilbo tugged onto his shirt, "Are we there yet?"

"No, not yet."

"When are we going to be there?"

"Soon."

"When's soon?"

"In a little while." So many questions for such a little person, he thought.

"I want to be there now." He whined.

"You can wait."

"But I'm hungry."

"We're nearly there."

"But I want it _now_."

"You'll spoil your appetite."

"What's an appetite?"

"Your want for food."

They sat in silence for a short minute.

"Are we there _now_?"

"NO." he growled. He couldn't imagine what it would have been like if he had to take him to Rivendell. His temper was getting shorter with each question.

"Papa. I need to do water." He crossed her legs in discomfort.

"I told you to go before we left."

"I didn't need to." He said miserably. He stopped the horses.

"All right, everybody listen up! If you need to do water, do it now! I will not stop again!"

After a moment's hurry, Sam did a quick count of heads and continued on.

Frodo Gamgee appeared from the bushes, hitching up is pants. Looking around, he noticed that the cart seemed to have disappeared. It was cool underneath the trees and he had left his cap and coat in the cart. Sam had counted the hat as one of his children by mistake.

Frodo ran along the road to catch up with the cart, but ran into a flock of sheep; the shepherd was too busy to answer his cries for assistance, and waited until the sheep passed. In time, he reached the crossroads. He had no idea where to go next.

"That dratted cart can go fast when it wants to." He muttered, searching for a sign of wagon tracks in the dirt, but the passing flock of sheep had obliterated all evidence. He crossed his fingers for good luck and plunged down the path that lead downhill, hoping it would lead him to where his parents might have gone.

TBC

I'm assuming that the journey to Buckland takes less than an hour from the Green Dragon, when most fans know it takes more than a few days :)


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

Another Chapter, Yay! I have to admit, I love Merry and Pippin, but it is a challenge finding personalities to fit the children. I do not own Tolkien or his works, but would love to. I do claim artistic licsence for Gary and Pip B, and other non-Tolkien characters.

* * *

Sam arrived at the picnic ground at around eleven that morning. As soon as the cart stopped, the children ran riot. He called after them to help with the food, but none seemed to answer. Merry and Pippin called from afar.

"Hoy! Samwise my good fellow! Over here!" they cried and they motioned towards the amount of food that they themselves had prepared. Sam greeting them with hugs and greetings of pure joy (and relief).

"It has been a long time since we were last together as a group." Merry said.

"The last time we met, Sam had nine and a half children, I think," Pippin laughed, "How many now Sam? Twenty? Thirty? A Gross?"

"Twelve the last time I checked." Sam replied.

"I'd like to see what happens at mealtimes at your place. All the food." Pippin's eyes widened in awe.

"Imagine Bilbo's party, except louder, busier and the sometime involvement of animals." He laughed.

"Gosh, I have enough trouble with the twins," Merry said scratching his head.

"Faramir can be a shocker too, you wouldn't believe how much we threatened him and cajoled him to do something civilised for once." Pippin said, rolling his eyes.

"Enough of talk, lets get this picnic under way." Merry said, snapping his fingers so his friends could start laying the food from Sam's cart.

"I don't know Mr Merry, but I have a strange feeling that I have forgotten something."

"Not to worry Sam, If you have forgotten something, there is the chance we haven't." he said, lifting a basket of mushrooms from the cart. There were a lot of mushrooms.

"Whoops, it looks like this one has already been plundered." Pippin said, lifting the cloth of one of the baskets. Sam wheeled around to the squadron of children standing by for lunch.

"Who took the mushrooms?"

"The Took took the mushrooms!" The children replied in a hobbit childhood saying. Pippin laughed, walking away to the grounds.

"There's not much damage done, not until this Took gets into them. Though I think we may have contributed to the extinction of an entire species of mushroom." He added in mock sorrow.

Then the field was set, and it was one of those rare times where they say it snowed food and rained drink, and the desires of greedy and gluttonous children were satisfied and some perhaps did not want to become greedy or gluttonous ever again, the amount of food curing those deadly sins.

TBC

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

I wonder what Tolkein would have writtenin his own Fanfic. I love writing about Faramir and Goldilocks, so cute

* * *

Faramir Took walked near the Hedge, the famous boundary of the Shire, and he was thinking. His thoughts were not wholesome as he was still angry about coming to the picnic, despite the feast he had just received. After walking some distance, he encountered the noise of sobbing. Investigating the sound, he saw a young hobbit girl with luxurious blonde curls crying underneath a bush.

"Hallo, why are you crying?" he asked as he crouched down to look at her.

"My dress is ruined!" she sobbed, and indeed her pretty yellow dress had ripped away and only her pinafore remained.

"How did that happen?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"I was playing Tag with my brothers and I tripped. I've been here ever since." She finally looked up at the strange boy, "who are you?"

"Faramir Took, son of Peregrin. What's your name?"

"Goldilocks Gamgee, daughter of Samwise and Rose." She replied, wiping away her tears that continued to stream from her brown eyes.

"Do you have a spare dress?"

"No, I'm afraid that mother will be so angry at me. This is new, and I can't walk back looking like this!" she gestured to the dirt on her face and pinafore.

"I have some spare pants and a shirt you may want to borrow." He suggested bashfully.

"Dress like a boy?" she laughed.

"Or look like a scullery maid, your choice." He shrugged.

"I'll take the pants and shirt please." She nodded remorsefully.

"Stay right here, I'll be back."

"Take your time," she said sarcastically, "I'm not going anywhere."

TBC

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

I never really liked the ents, but when I re-read LOTR: FOTR, I saw a conversation between Sam and Ted Sandyman about walking trees. Considering that the Ents must have stayed in Fangorn, and that the Entwives must be in the Shire, Tolkien _wanted_ us to make a fanfic about it. Well, that's my tought of it anyway. BTW, I don't own LOTR.

* * *

Frodo Gamgee banged his head against a tree, and knew to the full extent how lost he really was. "You're a fool Frodo Gamgee. Pa would not have approved of this, me getting lost and all. Now you're smack in the middle of nowhere, with naught but the birds to keep you company."

At eighteen, Frodo was still considered a child, but he was old enough to look after himself, by his reckoning; but he did not like his position at the moment. He tried taking a shortcut, over some fields but found himself in the middle of a dark forest. After finding nothing, he turned back, but it seemed that he was going in circles. Buckland couldn't be too far away, he thought. Soon he came to a small creek, and he bathed his tired feet.

The noon sun was hot and he found himself dozing under the shade of a big willow tree. After a while, he heard a creaking and slow melodious voice.

"_Hoom_, young hobbit sir," she said. It was definitely a woman's voice, but ancient and slow, "Don't go and sleep under this tree, _hoom_, because it is Old Man Willow, and he does not take visitors too kindly."

Frodo looked up and yelped in terror. A tree was talking to him! She was very tall and seemed to be an oak tree. She was also extremely old, with dark brown eyes. He jumped across the river, but was picked up by the tree-woman. He yelled for help, hoping that any hobbit could save him from some untimely death.

"Why the haste, master Hobbit? And why the all the noise? _Hoom_, I have watched you since you have arrived in the forest. I think that you are either lost or stupid to come this far into the woods."

"Let me go!" Frodo struggled, but blanched when he saw how far off the ground he was. Still the Ent-wife went on, striding further than Frodo could have hoped for one day.

"Patience is a virtue. Don't be hasty, we'll get there in time."

"Get where? Where are you taking me?" he yelled, his hope diminishing with his strength.

"To the master of the woods." She replied, her boughs creaking with each step. He had heard about Ents from Meriadoc and Peregrin and about their adventures with them. But Frodo did not want to go any further with this being, wether they were benevolent or not, hobbit-sense proved that the appearance of talking trees were perhaps the third or fourth sign of madness. He sighed, watching the sun beginning to come down from its zenith.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Once again, I don't own LOTR

* * *

"I dare you."

"Nuh-uh, I dare you."

"I dared you first."

"I double dare you."

"I triple dog dare you."

"Whose daring what?" a voice asked from behind. The twins Gary and Pip Brandybuck stiffened as they turned to see the owner of the voice. Faramir was standing with some lass in his clothes timidly behind him. They sighed in relief.

"Oh, it's just you, Faramir." Gary said.

"What happened to your hair?" Faramir asked, noticing the absence of long dark locks, even though Gary had a cap on.

"None of your business." He replied pulling the cap tighter on his head.

"He had to cut it off." Pip laughed, "Caught in the bush, and Dad had to cut it all off."

"It'll grow back. Anyway, what are you daring?" Faramir asked again. He had some idea, they were standing at the only gap in the hedge for miles around and only a small gate stood between the Shire and the Outside.

"To go over the gate and touch the trees in the Old Forest. Nothing bad." Pip said, looking out to the green-grey canopy beyond.

"But has the possibility to be distinctly dangerous."

"Foolhardy."

"Maybe even impossible." Gary grinned. Faramir knew exactly what those grins meant; after all he had spent most of his life with them.

"One of us is to be the first hobbit to go down into the wood, and bring back a stick as a token of an adventurer." Pip said in delight. Faramir snorted in contempt.

"You guys are really stupid aren't you?" Goldilocks huffed, emerging herself from the quiet of Faramir's shadow.

"Who're you to be calling us stupid?" Gary said shocked.

"Yeah, who are you? And what are you wearing?"

"My name is Goldilocks Gamgee, I am wearing spare pants and I think you're stupid because you are not the first hobbits to go in there." She said defiantly, crossing her arms, "you should know that your father went in there before you, and I sure other hobbits went in there as well."

"A Gamgee! I didn't think they would cross-dress, being gardeners and all. And I thought the Gamgee girls were pretty too." Gary said in false shock.

"And I don't think a _girl_ should be going around calling their elders or superiors stupid, unless she is herself stupid." Pip laughed somewhat maliciously. Goldilocks' great brown eyes brimmed with tears, and she ran through the gate into the wood. Faramir look at his cousins in rage, green eyes blazing.

"Who taught you manners?" he asked them, "your rear-ends would have kinder things to say." And he ran after her into the woods.

"Faramir likes Goldilocks! Faramir likes Goldilocks!" they chanted after them, swinging on the open gate.

"Oi! Who's up there? Pip? Gary? Come down here now!" the voice of the elder Merry boomed from below. The twins looked at each other, realising that their father must have overheard the exchange and they decided that the fear of the forest was less than the fear of their father's wrath. They turned on their tails and ran into the woods themselves.

Merry stalked up the hill, his entire frame was shanking with anger (being the tallest hobbit in history that was a spectacle to behold). He had heard the rude exchange between his sons and the children of his dear friends, knowing he had taught the future Masters of Buckland better manners. As he arrived where he had heard the voices, he could see no sign of either party. He looked around; there was no place they could have gone with him seeing them…unless…they couldn't be so stupid to go into the woods? As an answer, he saw the gate in the hedge swinging on its hinges.

* * *

Don't ask me how they became so nasty, as Merry would not tolerate any behaviour of the kind in his home. They must have had other friends with the behaviour, I would not tolerate it at all. 


	9. Chapter 9

* * *

Merry ran down the hill, filled with rage and worry, he had to alert the others to what has happened. He arrived at the picnic to where all the other hobbits were relaxing in the sun, drinking pink lemonade.

"Sam! Sam! Pip! Our children have gone into the woods!" he shouted, leaping over the mountains of dirty plates. Sam and Pippin, dropped whatever they were eating in horror and their wives asked what had happened.

"My sons were having some disagreement with Faramir and one or more of your daughters, Sam, and they ran off into the Old Forest." Merry gasped. Rose burst into tears as Sam fumbled for the whistle he used to summon his children. They came, most of them, two of them were missing: Frodo and Goldilocks.

"When was the last time any of you saw Goldilocks or Frodo? Speak up!"

There was a list of mumblings from every child, but Merry Gamgee raised his hand.

"Goldy, me and Pippin were playing tag on the grass up there," he pointed at the lawn before the hedge, "Goldy tripped and ripped her dress. We thought that she would have come down by now." He admitted bashfully.

Sam nodded and reprimanded them for not helping their sister, but was concerned that nobody had seen Frodo since that morning.

"Did he even come?" Elanor asked, "I did not seem him on the wagon. I think. I can't even remember if he ate with us."

Sam marched to the wagon, and saw the hat that Frodo always wore sitting upon a small bale of hay on which his jacket hung. A trick of the light would have convinced anyone that he was lying there, his rough blonde hair sticking out in all directions under his cap. He now had a missing son as well as a daughter.

"He's gone!" he cried in dismay, and then he turned to Merry, "how long have they been gone?"

"Five, perhaps ten minutes. They would have come out by now." He said. Sam leapt upon the pony, Bob (a descendant of Bill), and galloped bareback up to the Hedge Gate.

Merry and Pippin also found a horse and followed Sam into the woods.

Rose comforted Diamond, as the loss of her only son seemed greater than a loss of 16 of her children.

"They'll be back, Diamond. Our children aren't silly and our husbands are great. They'll be back soon." she said in a cheerful voice that contradicted her thoughts.

* * *

I like the idea of hobbits with pink lemonade, though I doubt that it would be fizzy. The whistle was an idea from the Sound of Music, though Sam would not be strict. I wanna be a Gamgee!


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you for the reviews. Sorry I have taken so long, something came up.

IDOTS: (I Don't Own Tolkien Stuff)

* * *

Frodo rested on the shoulder of the Ent-wife; he had no hope in getting back to the Picnic and decided that it was best to see where she was taking him.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"_hoom,_ my name is _Tanatellieratithyunbynbyrthallaalladurthabrin…"_

"No, I mean, what is your short name, your nickname." Frodo sighed, understanding Pippin's warning _"never ask for an Ent's proper name"_.

"You are hasty, aren't you? Very well, my name is Tana. I have no other Elvish name, nor dwarvish, nor westron, nor…"

"I get the picture." Frodo cut in gently, "Now, tell me; where are we going? I wouldn't mind some food right now."

"Patience, we're nearly there." She said, and suddenly the forest stopped and they were looking at the house upon the hill. It finally dawned on him.

"The house of Tom Bombadil." He gasped, scratching his straw-blonde hair, missing his hat deeply. In a few steps, they were at the front door of the cottage and a jolly man in a big hat appeared, carrying a bucket.

"Hello there Mother Tana, Master Hobbit. Well met and well received, I think." He laughed, put the bucket down and welcomed him inside. Bewildered, the young hobbit followed him inside, the smell of cooking greeted him and his stomach gurgled in delight.

"Excuse me, but why am I here?" he asked Tom who was bringing in a bowl of honey.

"I gather you are the one called Frodo?" he asked, placing it on the table already filled with other delights to the tastebuds.

"Yes, but— "

"Good, we'll discuss more over dinner, Goldberry will be home shortly." And almost as he said it, Frodo heard a tinkling of bells and a beautiful woman came through the door carrying a basket of apples. She laughed kindly when she saw the young hobbit, whose mouth was open; she disappeared from view only to arrive again with a jug of sweet apple cider.

"Uh, hello madam." Frodo bowed down, still awed by the tall woman.

"Such a polite hobbit. Come, sit and let us eat."

Frodo ate hungrily, but politely and was waiting for what Tom had to say to him, Tom ate and sang with his wife. The words were lovely to listen to apart from the fact that they were intelligible to the young hobbit. After Frodo have his fill he turned to the ageless man.

"Excuse, Mister Bombadil, but I should really be heading back to my home, after all it is getting close to night and my parents will be quite worried…" Frodo looked at the nearly grave look in Tom's eyes.

"You have been appointed by the Entwives to lead them back to Fangorn forest."

"Huh?" He said. Frodo frowned, he must have been mistaken for somebody else.

"You have been appointed, so to speak, by the Entwives to lead them back to Fangorn." Tom repeated.

"I can't go there, I don't know the way. If you want somebody to lead them, you need Merry and Pippin; Took and Brandybuck that is…they were the ones who stayed with the Ents for a while."

"Then which Frodo are you?" Tom suddenly looked quite alarmed. Goldberry's eyebrows raised beyond her hairline.

"I am Frodo Gamgee, son of Samwise. You must have mistaken me for my father's old friend, or perhaps even my father himself. I'm sorry, but I don't know the way." He apologised.

"Oh, that's right, Frodo was the dark one with the ring," Tom mused, then looked at Frodo shrewdly, "but you will have to explain that to the Entwives," he breathed, "they were the ones who picked you out, thinking that you were one of the hobbits that sent out to Mordor."

"Oh…what do I say to them?"

"It will be difficult to persuade them. Once an ent has decided, he has decided. It seems like that you are going to Fangorn." Goldberry explained.

"I-I'll sneak away from them."

"The forest won't let you." Tom said sternly, "the Entwives have their own way of convincing the trees to do their bidding. You are going to Fangorn wether you like it not."

Frodo's courage was failing him, and he looked around for an opportunity.

"Can I tell my parents; or get some supplies; or at least get a map? I have no companions to help me, and I don't even know where Fangorn is, let alone lead anyone there." He paused for a bit, gasping for air, "You need Mr Took and Mr Brandybuck, because they're the ones who have been to Fangorn. I'm not the one you are looking for!"

Frodo is not a coward, not by a long shot, but any Hobbit's instincts were to run away from anything unnatural or queer. Since finding himself in such an unusual situation, he ran out the door as fast as his little legs could carry him. His plan might have succeeded, but for the fact that several Entwives had arrived and were waiting outside the door. He screeched and retreated back inside the house.

"We're surrounded!" he yelped to the two unconcerned figures inside. The door reopened and four small figures tumbled through, pushed there by some leafed hand. Frodo looked at the amazing appearance of four, rather frightened, young hobbits.

"We have found Mr Brandybuck and Mr Took. It seems that they can help us too!" The cheerful voice of Tana boomed outside.

"Help? Help with what?" Faramir asked brushing off his coat. He had obviously had an unusual time, his face was hidden underneath dirt, hair and big green eyes.

"It seems that we have to lead these Tree Herders back to Fangorn." Frodo sighed, shaking his blonde head. The other four looked at him in horror.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

* * *

Sam yelled at the trees. Just before he was shouting through the trees, but now he shouting at them. For the third time they had entered the Old Forest and for the third time they had found themselves back outside where they began. Merry and Pippin looked on forlornly as Sam tried to smack the boughs with a club of wood, but the trees moved in tighter.

"Maybe they don't want us in." Pippin thought aloud. It was quite by accident, but Sam turned on the tired Thain.

"Nuuhhhh, ya think?" he asked savagely, using a term he had often heard his children use.

"Well, I'm just as frustrated as you are!" Pip yelled back, his temper rising sharply. The sun behind them cast a red gleam over the Shire, reflecting the moods they were feeling. Sam withdrew from his anger and looked sheepishly at the ground.

"Sorry, Mr Pip," he said, "I can't bear to think what is happening to them in there."

"Neither can I," Merry said. He walked up to the trees with purpose and searching through his pocket he brandished a pair of scissors at the trees, the same ones he had used to cut the hair of his son.

"If you don't let us through, I swear I will hurt you." He said, holding up the scissors. The trees quivered their leaves in mock fear. Merry snapped a few dead twigs off the nearest tree. It creaked in merriment and suddenly it let loose some of its older, dryer branches to the ground. Merry dived away just in time but smiled grimly. He held up a branch.

"Are you afraid now?" he asked and was answered by loud creaking laughter.

"Merry, what on Middle-Earth are you doing?" Pip asked as he dismounted from his horse. Sam looked on, unconvinced.

"Just watch," he whispered, pulling a tinderbox out of his other pocket. Gathering branches off the ground and some dry moss he began to light a fire. The trees began to whisper in a barely audible rustling.

He said aloud to the hobbits, so the trees could hear him, "It looks like we're going to stake out the night until they let us in, or we will burn the forest." The wood erupted into sounds of outrage: creaking, moaning and rustling. By now the fire had grown cheerfully.

"Mr Merry," Sam whispered to the large hobbit, "you're asking us for trouble, and by the looks of them, we're in for it."

Merry didn't seem to listen and held up a burning brand.

"Afraid now?" and he passed the brand close enough for them to feel the heat. Normally, the wood would just close in on them and the hobbits would be no more, but they were having an unusual dry spell and any flame could risk a forest fire of grievous harm. In one sudden movement, they parted revealing a straight path to wherever they needed to go.

Sam scratched his head, "Well that's something you don't see every day."

"Come on lads, and bring a branch with you." They picked up a brand and mounted their steeds.

"You really are amazing sometimes Merry." Pippin laughed as they entered the wood.

"Why thank you Pip," He paused, looking at the trees, "I want no funny business either! No pitfalls or cantankerous willows, or I swear I will thrust this brand into your leaves!" he shouted to the forest.

In the distance, they could see trees lumbering guiltily across the path, changing its course. Satisfied, but wary, the hobbits continued their journey.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

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Despite the obvious path, the hobbits found the track unpleasant to go through and the angry presence of the trees nearly made it unbearable. The sun had nearly disappeared and the sickle moon rose above them. Sam itched to tell Rose where he was, as she would be worrying by now. He wouldn't mind, perhaps, to have a palantir of sorts between them and maybe one each to his children and his friends. Something that could fit into the palm of his hand, and he could talk to anyone, wherever they may be. Communication could be so much improved. As he was thinking this, the wood stopped and they found themselves looking at a familiar white chalk path leading to a house on the hill. When they were far enough from the malevolent trees, the hobbits extinguished their torches and walked to the front door. Inside they heard the singing of a cheerful man. They knocked on the door after a few seconds a woman opened the door and smiled on the hobbits.

"Come in, come in; please sit." She offered chairs around the table, now bare of food. She called Tom out of the kitchen and he came, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, drying a dish. He placed the dish down and smiled at the hobbits.

No matter how nice Mr Bombadil was, Sam thought, he wanted to wipe that silly little grin off his face.

"Begging your pardon, Mr Bombadil," Sam began, "But we are wondering where our children could have gone."

"Your children came earlier today." He said cheerfully. A gleam of hope appeared in their eyes.

"Are they still here? Did you send them back to our homes?" Pippin asked, nearly pleading. Tom shook his head.

"They have accepted to go on a mission."

"Mission? _Misson!_" Sam yelped, "They are children! Where are they? I hope you haven't sent them on anything dangerous, Mr Tom…"

"None of the sort, they're in the safest of places-"

"Where? With whom?"

"With the Entwives; calm yourself!" Tom demanded, looking at the anger growing in Sam's eyes.

"Entwives? You sent them to go with the Entwives?" Sam said

("I thought that they had gone." Pip said.)

("Same here." Said Merry)

"_I_ did not send them, my dear friend. The Entwives chose them to lead them back to Fangorn. They did not go willingly." Tom explained.

"Then why did you let them go?" Sam asked venomously.

"They had no choice; you cannot, without great difficulty, sway an Ent's decision. They were adamant about them knowing the way home; they mistook them for _you._"

"Well, I don't see how _the Master of the Woods_, could not show the Ents that they have the wrong hobbits. You didn't even try" He added.

"I couldn't control free will…"

"You didn't really care, and because of that, you didn't try. You didn't even stop to think of what could happen to young hobbits alone out there. You don't understand what its like to care for someone who depends totally on you; children are precious to us. Not that you would understand…you don't have any." It was one of the worst things Sam had ever said, and he knew it. He was angry and the look of great sadness in Tom's eyes satisfied him, but inside he knew it was wrong, and once again he pulled out of his anger and apologised.

Tom sighed, "I understand, you're right Sam, I didn't try. I'm sorry, but your children are in the safest hands on Middle-Earth. Nothing will harm them. They left south a few hours ago, but it would be difficult to catch up, and a few of the lads seem to know where they were going. My only advice is now to go back to comfort your wives and set out as soon as possible." Tom said, sadly. The hobbits nodded and Tom showed them the door.

"Don't heed the trees; they will not harm you and will open a path for you to follow." He called as the golden light from his house spilled over the white chalk path. The hobbit ponies were waiting for them, grazing calmly in the dark. When the door shut, darkness enveloped them. With heavy hearts and weary legs, they set off back home.

TBC

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	13. Chapter 13

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Faramir Took was bone-achingly tired. By all standards, it had been a long day; he was no longer terrified of Ents, but found them overwhelmingly boring. He sat on a younger Ent, whose name was Mithorn. She did not engage much conversation and mostly she mumbled musically to herself. He wanted to sleep, but the height of which he found himself, he hardly allowed himself to blink. He looked for the other hobbit-children and saw them amongst the tree forms of the Ents. He looked in concern at Goldilocks, a tiny form on a huge She-Elm, no doubt that she was crying.

Frodo had tried to convince the Entwives that they had the wrong hobbits. To no avail; they would not let them go, especially after he had revealed that he knew where Fangorn was. He received in return, a slap behind the head from Gary with the comment, _"like the Ents, you must either be thick or hollow in the head, ya dumb piece of wood."_ Fortunately he said it soft enough so not to offend the eager Ents.

He couldn't help but feel extremely worried; he had poured over his father's maps and had listened to his stories, and he had a fair idea where Fangorn lay; but his main concern would be if they became lost. What could the Ents do to them? He suddenly wished that he had taken up the offer of cleaning the stables when he had the chance.

Suddenly the Ents stopped, beginning to sway in the feeble moonlight.

"What's happening Mithorn?" he asked the Ents he was riding.

"We have come to a stop."

"I know that. Can you tell me why?"

"Our limbs and boughs are tired, because we have walked longer and farther than we have done in an age, not since we escaped from our old lands far into the east and south. We are going to sleep now, near the river we have just past, and we will rest until the sun is in the east. We will set off again later tomorrow."

"In other words: _'we're stopping to make camp and we will leave in the morning',_ we don't need the extra information. We Hobbits are not exactly a quick people, but we do like to get to the point within thirty minutes."

Mithorn either seemed to have missed the barb, or she had ignored it, "Young child, you must learn to respect the finer things in life: life without detail cannot be called life, as it has nothing in it."

And she set the young hobbit on the ground, she stretched and stood still.

_How queer_ he thought. He started to walk around and soon found the other four. Tom Bombadil had left them with supplies: blankets, spare clothes, food and the like; but it hardly seemed fair that they had shouldered this immense responsibility. All of them looked worse for wear, lying down in the spongy grass, breathing raggedly, covering themselves with blankets.

Faramir lay down between Goldilocks and Pip, and he began to gaze at the stars, bejewelling the heavens in light. Just within the range of hearing, some river flowed gently and the crickets sang. Some Ents mumbled in their sleep and the warm wind sighed through their leaves. Under different circumstances, this would have been a glorious night.

"Ugh, I think I have an enormous splinter in my butt…" said Gary.

"Thanks for spoiling the mood, butt-head." Goldilocks said sharply, turning her back away from the offender. Faramir could feel her frustration falling off her like waves of heat. He waited for the retort from Gary, but it never came; it seemed that he had fallen asleep. As nervous as he was, Faramir could not resist the call of dreamless sleep.

TBC

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	14. Chapter 14

Pah-leez read and review! This part gets really sweet, but Diamond and Pippin are really sweet anyway, so enjoy!

* * *

Rose Gamgee stood in the hallway of Brandy Hall, waiting for the sounds of hoof steps and the voices of her children and husband. The stars wheeled overhead, as the rest of her children were sent to bed. They had done so quietly, with only Elanor and her third eldest Rose, keeping her company.

"Shouldn't they be back by now?" Rose, the younger, asked.

"I don't know Roz, it would be harder to move in the dark; they're probably delayed." She sighed. After several minutes, she went into the large main kitchen of Brandy Hall. The kitchen was large, enough to fit the entire clan of Hobbits that lived in the Hall, and several long tables occupied the adjacent dining room. At the end of one table, next to a dying fire, sat the forlorn figures of Estella Brandybuck and Diamond Took.

"Are they back yet?" Estella asked, Rose shook her head weakly.

"I wish we knew what happened," Diamond sighed, "You know, Faramir did not want to come to the picnic."

"There is no need to dwell on the subject Di, but we weren't gifted with foresight; we couldn't have seen what has happened now. I'm sure they are fine." Rose reassured Diamond, her eyes bright with worry.

"Mum! Pa's back!" Roz ran into the room. The Hobbit women rushed to the front door. Sam stood in the doorway, his silhouette framed by moonlight and as he stepped inside, the candlelight exaggerated his grim features. Rose embraced her husband, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Sam dear, where are the children? Where have they gone?"

"We did not see the children-" he started.

"Oh…so are they lost?" Rose wailed, and the other women could not resist their breaking hearts, and erupted into tears.

"No, no, no, no, no. Rosie, you must listen: our children are in the safest hands in Middle-Earth. But they have managed to get themselves in a really big mess, and they are on their way to Fangorn."

Pippin and Merry ducked underneath the doorframe, while their wives hurtled into their open arms. Rosie looked at Sam with wide eyes "Why on earth are they going to Fangorn?"

"It's a really bad case of mistaken identity: somehow they heard the tale of Mr Brandybuck and Mr Took with the Ents; or about Frodo and me with the ring-"

"Who are "They"?"

"The Entwives, Rosie; and they thought our children were us. And they go and get the queerest of ideas…"

_("Encouraged by Tom Bombadil. I don't think I could ever encourage that!" Pippin sighed, shaking his head.)_

_("Of course I'm not happy! I would never trade them for a bag of gold!" Merry said to Estella, who had asked him a tumult of questions regarding his opinion on the situation.)_

"…Frodo and the others are going to Fangorn." Sam said solemnly.

There was a stunned silence as Rose digested the information, "Also, Tom has told us that we may not be able to catch up to the Ents, as they go faster than any pony, and also the little ones didn't really get a choice in the matter." he continued.

Sam could see Rose's temper rising gradually, and as it usually happened in their large family it would snowball until it exploded into volcanic proportions. By experience small, quiet words would be the best course of action.

"How are they going to get home?" she asked.

"We are going to get them."

"When? Are you going right now?"

"Not now, we need to get supplies, and sleep."

"Are all of you going?"

"Yes." Said Sam exasperated. Rose measured her husband from curly head to hairy toe, after a pause she burst into tears.

"No, Sam, don't go. Don't you go and leave me," she sobbed, "last time you left, I was afraid you weren't coming back. I can't go through that again. I want to come with you Sam, I want to come too."

Something inside of Sam clicked and the memory of Frodo Baggins rowing away from him. He had said to Frodo that he could never leave him, and he had promised to look after him, by heart and oath. She had promised at their wedding that they would never leave each other, be it death or otherwise.

"Rose…"

"But, I can't leave the children, Sam. Who will look after them, if I go?" She looked up in the troubled eyes of Master Samwise. His heart was on the brink of shattering.

Diamond squeezed her husband's hand then faced Rose, "Rose, listen. I'll look after your children. I know how much you love yours and care for ours, and I know that you will find our children with the same amount of love as you will for your own." Diamond blushed as the room became silent.

"I'll help too. With Merry and the twins away, I'll be so alone. I'll be glad to help." Estella stepped forward, smiling timidly.

"Thank you. Oh, thank you so much Di; thank you too Estel." She whispered embracing them both. Estella and Rose broke into silent tears; Diamond, being of a much tougher material, held her head high and returned the embrace. Sam smiled while Pippin looked at Diamond surprised.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sam asked, clutching her shoulders and looking at her in the eyes. She nodded tearfully.

"Very well, Rose; we need to get ready now and have a sleep, I ent going to go and have you fall exhausted out on the road." Sam said seriously. They turned down the corridor only to meet Roz and Elanor waiting for them.

"I'm coming with you, father." Elanor said determined, sticking out her jaw. Sam recognised some of his stubbornness in her. Roz, copying her elder sister stood in the same wide-legged stance.

"Me too."

"You two are most definitely are not going. I have enough worriting to do about your brother and sister and mother out in the big world, let alone looking after two small children tagging along behind us."

"I am not a child anymore Pa! I am twenty-one years old and I know more about how to look after myself than most other hobbits my age: I know how to cook."

"That's because you're my child."

"I know how take care of horses."

"I taught you that too."

"I can dress wounds."

"I showed you what needed to be done."

"I know how to fight."

There was a strong silent pause around the hobbits.

"Who taught you to fight?" he looked accusingly at Elanor then at Pippin and Merry.

"We had nothing to do with it. Honest!" Pippin raised his hands in protest.

"Well…?" Sam asked as calmly as he could manage.

"Ummm…Flash did, Pa." she said guiltily

"Flash? Fastred? Fastred of Greenholm? The son of the pipe-weed farmer? The one who I caught lingering around my taters? What on middle-earth are you doing around him?" his voice getting louder with each statement.

"I'll only tell if you let me go."

"What!" Sam spluttered. He knew Flash with undesired intimacy, having thrashed him when he was caught breaking a fence, knocking over a pot-plant, picking his best flowers and messing with his mushrooms. Him and Lestred, Flash's father had a fight over Sam's nearly-harsh punishment for those deeds. Slowly, he realised why Flash had been hanging around New Row a lot.

"Fine. You're coming, not because I want you to come, but because I don't want any funny business with Flash while I'm away. The best cure for that is to keep you right under my nose." He pointed a finger at her. She stood shocked, golden curls tumbling around her pretty face.

"What about me?" Roz asked. Sam turned his pointing finger to her.

"NO. You are far too young and with Elanor and Frodo gone, you are now the eldest child. You stay here and help Mistress Took and Mistress Brandybuck, and I do not want to hear anything about any bad behaviour when we get back. I expect that you will look after the others and make sure they all get to school, fine and dandy. Make sure that Merry and Pip do not get into any more fights; don't let Ruby go to the Market again by herself. And most of all, make sure that they do go to sleep on time. I'm counting on you, Roz."

Roz blinked out a few tears, "but I want to go to."

"When I come back, when you're a little bit older maybe, I'll take you to see the elves." Sam promised. Roz nodded and rubbed her eyes.

"Go to sleep, we all need it for the morning." Sam said, leading everyone to their rooms. The only ones left in the great kitchen were Diamond and Pippin Took.

"That was a lovely and brave thing you did, offering to look after Sam's children." Pippin said nuzzling into her dark curls.

"I'm only trying to equal you in brave and wonderful deeds, dear." She replied.

"I think you've passed me already."

"How do you mean?" she asked as they walked to their room.

"One thing, looking after most of Sam's children will be an epic in itself."

"Ha ha, very funny."

"Also, being the mother of the Prince of Fools is one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences. You, I think, are one of the greatest mothers of all time." He paused, opening the door to their room, "And I think that marrying me was probably the scariest, bravest, most wonderful thing that anyone has ever done. It is so special, that it cannot be put into song." He murmured. Diamond looked into his green eyes with wicked smile.

"It's because I love you."

"I know."

TBC

* * *

Audience Cue Card: AAAwwwwwwwwww. 


	15. Chapter 15

Sorry that it's been so long, I've had writer's block and have been writing other fanfic (The Food Delimma)...this story still has a while to go, but this chapter had been the biggest obstacle.

* * *

Faramir surfaced slowly from his pool of sleep and scratched his face. As he regained consciousness, he felt extremely itchy; tingling pricks seemed to crawl over him. As he felt something crawl over his lips, he knew something wasn't quite right.

"Aaaiiiiiiiii!"

He jumped up at Goldie's scream of terror. She was jumping and stamping furiously, slapping her face at unseen enemies. Faramir soon saw what they were: ants. He looked at his own arms and saw a black multitude swarming around.

It should be clear to note that Hobbits are not huge fans of insects, by any stretch. The reason why is because bugs seem a lot larger to hobbits than to us. A story about a house spider would send a full grown hobbit into the quakes; Sam's encounter with Shelob gave Faramir nightmares for weeks. An ant to us just fits on the tip of our little finger; to a hobbit child, it nearly takes up a joint of the little finger.

All the children we're up and dancing around in panicked circles. It seemed to be that they had been sleeping on a nest for most of the night, and all occupants of the colony were attacking the hobbits and pillaging the food.

"Ah! They're all over me!" Gary cried, and then sprinted off. Faramir didn't know where he was going, but followed any way. They ran blindly through the large tussock grass, hoping the whipping leaves would rid them of the foul insects, but to no avail.

Suddenly and abruptly, he found himself at the edge of the river they had crossed the night before. Teetering slowly over the very high bank, he already saw the twins dive in with ease. Being Brandybucks, they had no fear of water and had an unnatural love for swimming. Faramir could swim, but was still apprehensive about diving in. Finally he decided that it was either him or the ants, and greeted the cool water lovingly. The cool water unfortunately turned into ice and he was paralysed for a heart stopping second. With a sudden push, he broke the surface and gasped clean air, grappling for the large river stones by the bank. He clung on and looked around for his peers, his teeth chattering in the early morning light. Gary and Pip were already out, looking like woeful bedraggled puppies, the dye in their clothes running in brown rivulets down their legs.

He heard two shrieks above him and two large splashes behind him. He guessed that both Goldilocks and Frodo had jumped into the river as well. He turned and waited for them to break the surface.

And waited.

He let out a huge oath (one that he had learnt off Mr Merry) and dived back under the water. He had forgotten that none of the Gamgees could swim, it was almost impossible to think that they would jump into the water, ants or not.

Faramir did not have time to think, as he saw Frodo's straw coloured hair drifting in front of him. Grabbing the floating mass of hair, he hoisted Frodo above the surface. Frodo gulped in air as Faramir grabbed a passing tree root.

"Stay there!" Faramir ordered.

"Goldi-locks," Frodo coughed.

"I'm getting her!" Faramir shouted as he paddled back into the river. He was suddenly caught by the current and was swept along at great speed. Panicking, he tried to swim out of it, only to be dragged under.

He saw suddenly, Goldilocks' still form caught on a submerged log. He paddled quickly over and descended on the log. Her boot was wedged between the log and a rock, and he noticed (slightly relieved) that her eyes followed him blankly. His lungs were screaming for air as he pulled her free; he pushed towards the surface, dragging them both; but her weight was tremendous and the current was too strong.

_I am going to die here_ he thought, as his lungs filled with water. It was a disturbing feeling, not peaceful as some hobbits had said, but his brain was screaming, yet drowsy at the same time. Before he blacked out, he saw a giant shadow explode above him _Perhaps this is death._

_TBC_


End file.
